Women's World Cup offers a reset for FIFA and sponsors after controversy reigned in Qatar, according to branding expert

By James Rogers

Sponsors can expect a drama-free tournament in Australia and New Zealand, says branding expert Jim Andrews

After the controversies at last year's men's World Cup in Qatar, sponsors can expect a drama-free Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, says branding expert Jim Andrews.

The Women's World Cup, which kicks off in New Zealand and Australia on Thursday, gives world soccer's governing body, FIFA, and its corporate partners an opportunity to reset after the bad press that blighted the Qatar World Cup, according to Andrews.

"Maybe it is a chance to catch their breath and not have to deal with all the issues that surrounded Qatar," Andrews, founder and CEO of A-Mark Partnership Strategies, told MarketWatch. "I would characterize it as a return to having a focus on the sport itself and the matches that are going to be played over the next month."

Related: Women's World Cup 2023: When does it start? How much do the players make?

FIFA was widely criticized over the Qatar World Cup, with critics citing the plight of migrant workers and lack of LGBTQ+ rights in the Gulf nation.

The World Cup was awarded to Qatar in 2010, on the same day the 2018 World Cup was awarded to Russia, a decision that also attracted criticism over human rights and other concerns. The awarding of the marquee events to Russia and Qatar sparked a massive investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice that brought down numerous members of FIFA's former leadership.

The challenges facing tournament sponsors were underlined just before the World Cup kicked off in Qatar when organizers banned beer sales in the tournament's eight stadiums. The Muslim nation, which was the first country in the Arab world to host a World Cup, had previously said beer sales within stadiums would be permitted.

Related: Women's World Cup could be worth $300 million in media rights

The reversal appeared to take World Cup beer sponsor Budweiser, which is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BT), by surprise.

In stark contrast, sponsors can expect a drama-free World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, according to Andrews. "It's an opportunity to focus on the teams and the athletes without having to deal with the location of where the tournament is being played or any of the political or social issues that surrounded Qatar or other host countries," he said.

"On a very basic level [the World Cup] offers something that is relatively rare -- it's a global platform," Andrews added, citing the vast attention paid to soccer around the world. "There's no other way to generate that type of attention."

A record 1.1 billion viewers around the world watched coverage of the 2019 Women's World Cup across all platforms, according to FIFA. The world football governing body expects that over 2 billion people will tune in to this year's Women's World Cup.

See:Women's World Cup: Australian team targets FIFA over prize money inequity

FIFA has also changed its sponsorship model for this Women's World Cup. In December, the organization announced a new commercial partnership structure that includes dedicated programs for women's football. Previously, World Cup sponsorship packages encompassed both the men's and women's tournaments.

"We're excited about the opportunities for brands who want to support women's sport, help accelerate women's equality, and wish to align themselves with the unparalleled momentum around women's football," said Sarai Bareman, FIFA's chief women's football officer, in a statement.

The organization's website lists Visa Inc. (V) and New Zealand--based software company Xero as FIFA women's football partners. McDonald's Corp. (MCD), Booking Holdings Inc.'s (BKNG) Booking.com, Globant S.A. (GLOB), Budweiser, Unilever's Rexona and Chinese dairy company Mengniu are listed as Women's World Cup sponsors.

Also read:Qatar World Cup controversies mean sponsors are walking a tightrope

The big issue entering this World Cup has been pay equity, following several teams' high-profile battles for parity with their male counterparts. Earlier this week the Australian women's team called out FIFA over prize-money inequity between the women's and men's World Cup tournaments.

In March, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced that $110 million of basic prize money will be awarded at the Women's World Cup, up from $30 million for the 2019 tournament. However, that is still dwarfed by the $440 million in prize money available at last year's men's World Cup in Qatar.

Infantino has said that the organization aims to have equality in payments for the men's and women's World Cups in 2026 and 2027, respectively.

Related:For Budweiser, Qatar World Cup has been a tale of tough logistics and quick thinking

"I think that [pay-equity target] gives the sponsors some cover," Andrews told MarketWatch. "Because that's an evolving situation, I don't think we will get a lot of sponsors weighing in."

-James Rogers

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-20-23 0757ET

Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.